East Bank Station tops 1 million boardings

Posted by Drew Kerr |
Thursday, April 23, 2015 12:00:00 AM

Without a vehicle, University of Minnesota senior Kelsey Decker relies on transit to get to school, work and go shopping. One of her primary boarding locations: the METRO Green Line’s East Bank Station, situated at the heart of the U of M campus.

Decker was at the station this week as she prepared to board a westbound train that would take her to downtown Minneapolis, where she could transfer to the Blue Line en route to her job at Ikea in Bloomington. Decker estimates she’s at the station at least four times a week.

“I’ve been using the Green Line pretty much since the day it opened,” Decker said. “It’s very convenient and comfortable.”

Riders like Decker have made East Bank Station the most popular boarding location on the Green Line. In March, it became the first of the Green Line’s 23 stations to top 1 million boardings since service began in June 2014. Year-to-date, there have been an average of 4,468 weekday boardings at East Bank Station.

“Being in the middle of campus and near several major destinations, we knew East Bank Station would be a popular boarding location,” Director of Light Rail Brian Funk said. “We’re excited to see students and others using the Green Line as part of their daily travels.”

East Bank Station’s popularity is just one sign that the U of M has fully-embraced the Green Line. More than 16,000 U-Passes, which provide unlimited rides for a per-semester fee, have been sold this spring semester.

Combined, the three stations that serve the U of M campus – Stadium Village, East Bank and West Bank – have seen nearly 2 million total boardings. That represents about 22 percent of the 9.1 million total rides the Green Line has seen since service began.

Like Decker, U of M student Ian Rapson is also at East Bank Station several times a week. Rapson rides the Green Line between campus and Nicollet Mall Station (the Green Line's second-busies station), where he transfers to a Route 10 bus that delivers him to and from him home in Northeast Minneapolis.

“I do a lot of biking, but this is just as convenient and I like that can read when I take transit,” Rapson said.